Peshawar power cuts

Acute shortfalls in electricity are routine in all provinces, barring the areas where VIPs live

Amid a heatwave the residents of Peshawar, Mardan and Hazara divisions had to endure a very prolonged power outage that began on June 7^th. Wapda is being blamed — though not being held accountable as of yet — for its failure to supply electricity to the Peshawar Electric Supply Company (Pesco). Unfortunately, for the residents, nature does not consider what facilities one has to survive the calamitous temperatures it has to offer. That is the government’s job. And, as evidenced here, the government has failed its citizens.

A host of reasons have been offered: low power generation, voltage fluctuation, reduced voltage, power tripping and then intentional load-shedding. For a deficit to nearly double from 700 megawatts (MW) one day to 1,200MW the next is significant and it should have been anticipated by Pesco that an electricity emergency was imminent. We know the power deficit has existed for years. Simultaneously, the high demand for electricity has been the subject of many political conversations. However, only small-scale action has been taken and that too at a sluggish pace. Governments come and go, speaking laurels of their work, but on the ground, those are evidenced to be mere exaggerations. Acute shortfalls in electricity are routine in all provinces, barring the areas where certain self-proclaimed VIPs live. Only when they experience heatstroke or lose a loved one in an ICU because the hospital’s power supply shuts off will they understand the detriments of these attitudes.

We support the protests by the residents of Peshawar to the extent that they demand basic necessities so that their families may exist in decent health and basic comfort. At some point in Pakistan, basic necessities to stave off heatstrokes became a luxury. Pesco and Wapda need to be better equipped to facilitate power supply and distribution to Peshawar residents.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, June 11^th, 2018

Like Opinion & Editorial on Facebook, follow @ETOpEd on Twitter to receive all updates on all our daily pieces.

.